Anyone else suffering from cancellation of Sapphire Princess Cruise in October?

[aprilsfool11]

I was wondering if there were other people here concerned by the cancellation of Sapphire Princess' cruise to Asia in October this year. We have booked this cruise back in December and were informed by our travel agency 3 months later that the ship was chartered and our cruise cancelled. This is not only a huge disappointment for us, having planned this cruise long beforehand as a family vacation with 4 adults having to co-ordinate their vacation time, it's also a big financial loss because at the time of cancellation we had just booked our flights from Europe as well as hotel rooms independently, all of which can not be cancelled. We already asked Princess for re-imbursement for our expenses, but they're giving us a lot of trouble and seem even disinclined to admit to their breach of contract. I get the distinct impression that they won't give us any re-imbursement at all and instead try to wear us down, counting on the fact that most people won't like to sue them for all the trouble that such a lawcase against a big company is going to be. There's not even a single line of apology from them, just an offer for a later cruise with different ports of call, which we can't accept because the dates of our vacation are already fixed and we don't like the the itinerary anyway (we also had some family business to attend to in Shanghai, so it was imperative for us to have the cruise start or end in Shanghai, which the other doesn't). I'm not a first-time cruiser (though nowhere near as experienced as many people here...), but IMO this behaviour constitutes a shady business policy, and although we have been on a cruise with Princess Cruises once before that we enjoyed very much, we won't go with them any more in the future - never ever. I'm writing this as a first-time poster because I'm interested to learn whether there are others with similar experiences, and of course to warn people about booking with a company that obviously doesn't care about the satisfaction of its customers AT ALL!

[rpcv77]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2162087&highlight=sapphire+cancellation

[CruisinFinsUp]

If this particular cruise works for you, perhaps you can rebook the charter? Your travel agent may be able to help. Just a thought.

[RickEk]

I was wondering if there were other people here concerned by the cancellation of Sapphire Princess' cruise to Asia in October this year. We have booked this cruise back in December and were informed by our travel agency 3 months later that the ship was chartered and our cruise cancelled. This is not only a huge disappointment for us, having planned this cruise long beforehand as a family vacation with 4 adults having to co-ordinate their vacation time, it's also a big financial loss because at the time of cancellation we had just booked our flights from Europe as well as hotel rooms independently, all of which can not be cancelled. We already asked Princess for re-imbursement for our expenses, but they're giving us a lot of trouble and seem even disinclined to admit to their breach of contract. I get the distinct impression that they won't give us any re-imbursement at all and instead try to wear us down, counting on the fact that most people won't like to sue them for all the trouble that such a lawcase against a big company is going to be. There's not even a single line of apology from them, just an offer for a later cruise with different ports of call, which we can't accept because the dates of our vacation are already fixed and we don't like the the itinerary anyway (we also had some family business to attend to in Shanghai, so it was imperative for us to have the cruise start or end in Shanghai, which the other doesn't). I'm not a first-time cruiser (though nowhere near as experienced as many people here...), but IMO this behaviour constitutes a shady business policy, and although we have been on a cruise with Princess Cruises once before that we enjoyed very much, we won't go with them any more in the future - never ever. I'm writing this as a first-time poster because I'm interested to learn whether there are others with similar experiences, and of course to warn people about booking with a company that obviously doesn't care about the satisfaction of its customers AT ALL!

 

As mentioned in other threads, every cruise line will choose a charter over a regular cruise every time. It's not just Princess.

 

Also, I would think that they may cover change fees for your airline tickets. Did you purchase insurance? You could make a claim with them too...

Edited February 22, 2015 by RickEk

[caribill]

If this particular cruise works for you, perhaps you can rebook the charter? Your travel agent may be able to help. Just a thought.

 

A charter can be a disaster for a person that has not been targeted for that charter.

 

Since this will be an Asian cruise, it is possible that few if any activities on board and shore excursions will be in English.

 

It is also possible that many venues during the day and evening will be devoted to the special activities of the group that chartered the cruise.

[caribill]

 

Also, I would think that they may cover change fees for your airline tickets.

 

That might work, but only if the airline they have tickets for also flies to where they will now choose to spend their vacation.

 

Also, if the new destination has a lower ticket cost, they will lose the difference from what the original tickets cost.

 

And the hotel costs still would not be covered.

[sunshine nana]

We had a Princess cruise canceled for May after we had bought our return train tickets. At least we had not bought our plane tickets yet to Vancouver. We were able to cancel our hotel rooms. Princess said they would give us a whopping $15. I still don't know how to access that money! I learned not to trust them until just before final payment! I'm sorry for you.

[CruisinFinsUp]

A charter can be a disaster for a person that has not been targeted for that charter.

 

Since this will be an Asian cruise, it is possible that few if any activities on board and shore excursions will be in English.

 

It is also possible that many venues during the day and evening will be devoted to the special activities of the group that chartered the cruise.

 

Agree but the OP mentioned "family business " in Shanghai so perhaps they would be comfortable with the charter. Never know.

[cruzsnooze]

Since you've stated you will NEVER sail with them again and stating you wish it were more convenient to sue them they have no reason to placate you.

Edited February 23, 2015 by cruzsnooze

[kitkat343]

I can understand Princess choosing to book a charter and canceling reservations, but it does seem that they should compensate passengers who have already booked nonrefundable plane tickets. Until I read about it here, I had no idea the cruise ships could do this, and would have bought tickets assuming my trip was safe.

[RDC1]

As with most companies in the travel business, damages are pretty much limited to what you have paid them in case of a cancellation. If you booked your airline tickets independently and not through Princess you are pretty much out of luck. Of course if you had purchased insurance on your airline tickets either through the airline or a third party travel insurance company you can make a claim there and get your money back due to the cancellation.

[CantanaLobo]

Before one writes "breach of contract", one should read the contract. From a Princess contract:

 

(A) If Carrier cancels the Cruise before it has started, it shall refund the Cruise Fare (less any air or accommodation charges incurred).

.

.

.

Under no circumstances shall the Carrier be or become liable for consequential or other damages of any kind sustained by any Passenger except as expressly provided herein.

 

Your non-refundable air and hotel are "consequential or other damages". You can find similar from any cruise line. EU may have protections that nullify the above verbiage in the contract, may not. I don't know much about EU consumer protections.

 

As RickEk mentioned, the cruise lines are quite happy to charter a ship without much regard for the booked passengers. The contract absolves them from any real cost of doing the charter. If you won't sail on any cruise line that has this practice, you won't be cruising.

 

If you are worried about the risk of the cruise line chartering the ship out from under you, you must either purchase refundable air/hotel/etc, or buy insurance that covers the possibility. You cannot rely on the cruise line doing any more than what the contract requires.

Edited February 23, 2015 by CantanaLobo

[Talisker92]

I had booked a Princess cruise to go to the Holy Land. I was notified that the cruise was rerouted to the Black Sea. This was totally unacceptable! We cancelled the cruise, and fortunately, our air was through British Airways miles.

I was able to cancel and spent may early mornings waiting for my return flight to open up.

[likeadisguise]

We already asked Princess for re-imbursement for our expenses, but they're giving us a lot of trouble and seem even disinclined to admit to their breach of contract. I get the distinct impression that they won't give us any re-imbursement at all and instead try to wear us down, counting on the fact that most people won't like to sue them for all the trouble that such a lawcase against a big company is going to be.

 

According to a post on the roll call for one of the cancelled cruises, this is the message they received from Princess:

 

SAPPHIRE PRINCESS - OCTOBER 6, 2015 - VOYAGE CANCELLATION

 

Please be advised that due to the confirmation of a charter cruise, Sapphire Princess' 17-day Grand Asia voyage departing October 6, 2015, has been cancelled. Should you decide to rebook on any Princess cruise departing by December 31, 2016, including Sapphire Princess' 17-day Ground Asia sailing departing November 9, 2015, you will receive an onboard credit of USD $200 per stateroom and all monies received by

Princess will be transferred to your new booking. Should you not rebook at this time, you will receive a full refund of all monies received by Princess. Please contact 13 24 88 (Australia); 0800 780717 (New Zealand); 1-800-774-6237 (North America); or 0843 3740014 (United Kingdom) to advise us of your plans. If we do not hear from you within 30 days, we will process a refund of any payments received to the original form of payment. We understand this cancellation may cause you to incur additional expenses. Please visit http://www.princess.com/refund-request for a list of reimbursable expenses and details on submitting a refund request.

 

That sounds pretty clear that they're willing to cover non-refundable costs... have you sent in the form and now they've said they've changed their mind about what they'll cover?

Edited February 23, 2015 by likeadisguise

[jrzebird]

I had booked a Princess cruise to go to the Holy Land. I was notified that the cruise was rerouted to the Black Sea. This was totally unacceptable! We cancelled the cruise, and fortunately, our air was through British Airways miles.

I was able to cancel and spent may early mornings waiting for my return flight to open up.

 

I just booked air for my November return after 15 days at sea. Why? Because now is when it's much more reasonable. I also used airline miles so I really don't lose anything if I have to change.

 

As for OP, have you called the airline and hotel? Are you basing your anger on known facts or suppositions? Generally hotels do not have much of a cancellation fee, particularly not this far in advance (8 months). Also, considering the time frame, you should at least try to get a refund on your airfare. Then, when you call Princess, you will have FACTS as to how much this is going to cost you. And, as others have asked, do you have insurance on your airfare? Without actual facts in hand, you'll just be yelling in the wind.

 

Also, as others have said, this happens on all lines. Why it's your cruise, all three segments I presume, only Princess knows for sure. Perhaps yours wasn't selling well? Whatever the cause, pointing fingers at a corporation that has a main goal of making a profit is sort of useless. it happened. If you never sail Princess again, that is a shame. As my grandfather would say, "cutting off your nose to spite your face".

 

I'm 1000% positive you will get your entire fare back (not sure if you'll get it as a FCC or in cash) but I'd ask for the actual money, not credit.

 

Please come back and let us know how it works out.

 

Maureen

[caribill]

According to a post on the roll call for one of the cancelled cruises, this is the message they received from Princess:

 

 

 

That sounds pretty clear that they're willing to cover non-refundable costs... have you sent in the form and now they've said they've changed their mind about what they'll cover?

 

Air Ticket Refund: Documents should show that the tickets are non-refundable, non-transferrable, and do not have value for future travel

 

If the tickets have value for future travel, even if the OP cannot make use of that future travel it does not look as if Princess will refund the ticket cost.

Edited February 23, 2015 by caribill

[aprilsfool11]

After reading some of the replies in this and another thread I'm truly surprised that there are so many people having similar experiences. However, there also seem to be a lot of people who obviously don't care if the cruise companies honour their contracts or not. I'm aware that those companies run a business and therefore have the primary goal of making money, but I still think they should be bound by their contracts, as every business depends on reliability - call me naive if you want.

Anyway, I'm still trying to get my re-imbursement, although I don't hold too much hope, since the online travel agency which I used to book the flights is not very helpful, neither is the airline (for some reason, they refuse to give me any written statement, although they have confirmed that my flights can't be cancelled or refunded when I called them, so I only have a small screenshot of a part of their website to prove my case).

I haven't decided about hiring a lawyer and sueing Princess (as they haven't officially declined the petition yet), but as our expenses for flights etc. amount to almost 4000,- € I probably will, if they refuse to pay - even more so after finding out that this is not a singular occurrence. I don't know about law in other countries, but I've read the General Terms and Conditions for Germany quite thoroughly, and in my understanding Princess Cruises is not allowed to cancel the cruise for the reason they have. I'd be interested to hear from other cruisers who might be affected, too (perhaps there is a possibility of a class-action lawsuit? If this is the correct term), but I'm not sure how to get into direct contact - if there such a thing as a private mail on this board, those who know how to use it can e-mail me.

[Colo Cruiser]

Can you post the part that says they can't cancel the cruise?

[aprilsfool11]

Here it is, but I hope you can read and understand German, because these are the German Terms and Conditions (from the German representative of Princess Cruises):

 

5. Leistungsänderungen

5.1 Die ICO als Reiseveranstalter behält sich Änderungen und Abweichungen wesentlicher Reiseleistungen von den vertraglich vereinbarten vor, wenn diese für den Reisenden zumutbar sind. Das ist dann der Fall, wenn die Änderung selbst unerheblich, aber notwendig ist, wenn sie unvorhersehbar war und der Gesamtzuschnitt der Reise nicht wesentlich beeinträchtigt wird. Soweit die geänderten Leistungen selbst mit Mängeln behaftet sind, bleiben eventuelle Gewährleistungsansprüche des Reisenden unberührt. Der Wechsel einer nicht zugesicherten Fluggesellschaft ist zulässig. Im Falle einer Änderung der Reise wird die ICO den Reiseteilnehmer unverzüglich nach Kenntnis von dem Änderungsgrund unterrichten. Wenn eine erhebliche Änderung oder Abweichung einer wesentlichen Reiseleistung vorliegt, ist der Reisende zum kostenfreien Rücktritt berechtigt oder kann alternativ eine kostenlose Umbuchung auf eine gleichwertige Ersatzreise verlangen, sofern ICO in der Lage ist, eine solche Reise anzubieten. Der Reisende hat seine Wahl unverzüglich nach Unterrichtung über die Änderung/Abweichung durch ICO zu erklären.

5.2 Umfasst der Reisevertrag auch das An- und Abreisepaket ist ICO berechtigt An- und Abflugzeiten sowie die zunächst angegebene Fluggesellschaft zu ändern, sofern dies z. B. aus organisatorischen oder technischen Gründen notwendig wird und die Gründe erst nach Abschluss des Reisevertrages entstanden sind. ICO informiert über diese Änderungen rechtzeitig. Hat ICO eine Kabinennummer ausnahmsweise vor der Kreuzfahrt bestätigt, können in der Regel nach Zuteilung keine Änderungswünsche des Reisenden mehr berücksichtigt werden. ICO ist aus organisatorischen Gründen berechtigt, auch zugewiesene Kabinen zu ändern, wenn die Änderung innerhalb derselben Kabinenkategorie erfolgt und zumutbar ist.

5.3 Änderungen der Leistungen nach Beginn der Kreuzfahrt, insbesondere Änderungen der Fahrt- und Liegezeiten und Routen sind zulässig, wenn sie notwendig sind, weil sie z. B. auf behördlichen Weisungen beruhen, aus Sicherheitsgründen für die Reisenden und die Schiffsmannschaft und/ oder durch höhere Gewalt erforderlich werden und/oder um Gefahren abzuwenden. Im Übrigen gilt, dass über Änderungen der Fahrzeiten, der Routen und/oder anzulaufenden Häfen z. B. aus Witterungsgründen oder Sicherheitsüberlegungen während der Fahrt allein der für das Schiff verantwortliche Kapitän entscheidet.

 

7. Vertragsbeendigung durch den Reiseveranstalter

7.1 ICO kann den Reisevertrag kündigen, wenn der Reisende die Durchführung der Reise ungeachtet einer Abmahnung von ICO nachhaltig stört, oder wenn sich einer der Reisenden in solchen Maße vertragswidrig verhält, dass die sofortige Aufhebung des Vertrages gerechtfertigt ist. Dies gilt insbesondere bei strafbaren Handlungen des Reisenden. Gleiches gilt bei Nichtbefolgung der sog. „Guest Vacation Policy“ also der länderspezifischen Ge- und Verbote bzgl. Waffen- oder Drogenbesitz, Gewalttätigkeit, beleidigendem Verhalten etc. Hierüber wird der Reisende zu Beginn der Kreuzfahrt informiert.

7.2 Lässt der geistige oder körperliche Zustand eines Reisenden nach dem pflichtgemäßen

Ermessen der medizinischen Berater von ICO eine Reise bzw. Weiterreise nicht zu, weil der Reisende reiseunfähig ist oder eine Gefahr für sich selbst oder Dritte darstellt, kann der Reisevertrag jederzeit gekündigt werden und die weitere Beförderung verweigert werden. Weiterhin hat ICO das Recht, einen Reisevertrag zu kündigen bzw. die Beförderung zu verweigern, soweit Kundinnen bei Reiseantritt die 24. Schwangerschaftswoche erreicht haben oder während der Reise erreichen würden.

7.3 Soweit der Kunde seine vertragliche Verpflichtung verletzt ICO bereits vor der Abreise die erforderlichen Passdaten zur Weitergabe an die entsprechenden Einreisebehörden zu übermitteln, kann der Reisevertrag ohne Setzung einer weiteren Frist gekündigt bzw. die Beförderun verweigert werden.

7.4 Soweit aus den o. g. Gründen ein Reisevertrag von ICO gekündigt und eine weitere Beförderung verweigert wird, behält ICO den Anspruch auf den Reisepreis. ICO lässt sich jedoch den Wert der ersparten Aufwendungen, sowie diejenigen Vorteile anrechnen, die sie aus einer anderweitigen Verwendung der nicht in Anspruch genommenen Leistungen erlangt. Für eventuell entstehende Mehrkosten des Kunden steht ICO nicht ein. Insbesondere hat der Reisende die ihm oder dem Reiseteilnehmer entstehenden Mehraufwendungen für einen Rücktransport an seinen Heimatort selbst zu tragen. Der Reisende sollte überprüfen, ob eine Zusatzkrankenversicherung erforderlich ist.

 

The important thing is that these terms state the conditions under which Princess is allowed to change or cancel the cruise very specifically, and it's not simply a better business offer.

[Colo Cruiser]

Here is a small portion in english....

 

Posted by Rocketman275.....

 

From the cruise contract: "Carrier may, for any reason, without prior notice, cancel the cruise; deviate from the scheduled ports of call, route and timetable; call or omit to call at any port or place or cancel or modify any activity on or off the ship; comply with all governmental laws and orders given by governmental authorities; render assistance to preserve life and property; or change the date or time of sailing or arrival, change the port of embarkation or disembarkation, shorten the Cruise or substitute ships, aircraft or other transportation or lodging. Accordingly, You should not make any important arrangements or meetings based on the scheduled Cruise, which may change without liability to Carrier."

Edited February 23, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[likeadisguise]

aprilsfool11, that looks like your agreement with your travel agency, not your passage contract with Princess Cruises.

[RickEk]

Here it is, but I hope you can read and understand German, because these are the German Terms and Conditions (from the German representative of Princess Cruises):

 

5. Leistungsänderungen

5.1 Die ICO als Reiseveranstalter behält sich Änderungen und Abweichungen wesentlicher Reiseleistungen von den vertraglich vereinbarten vor, wenn diese für den Reisenden zumutbar sind. Das ist dann der Fall, wenn die Änderung selbst unerheblich, aber notwendig ist, wenn sie unvorhersehbar war und der Gesamtzuschnitt der Reise nicht wesentlich beeinträchtigt wird. Soweit die geänderten Leistungen selbst mit Mängeln behaftet sind, bleiben eventuelle Gewährleistungsansprüche des Reisenden unberührt. Der Wechsel einer nicht zugesicherten Fluggesellschaft ist zulässig. Im Falle einer Änderung der Reise wird die ICO den Reiseteilnehmer unverzüglich nach Kenntnis von dem Änderungsgrund unterrichten. Wenn eine erhebliche Änderung oder Abweichung einer wesentlichen Reiseleistung vorliegt, ist der Reisende zum kostenfreien Rücktritt berechtigt oder kann alternativ eine kostenlose Umbuchung auf eine gleichwertige Ersatzreise verlangen, sofern ICO in der Lage ist, eine solche Reise anzubieten. Der Reisende hat seine Wahl unverzüglich nach Unterrichtung über die Änderung/Abweichung durch ICO zu erklären.

5.2 Umfasst der Reisevertrag auch das An- und Abreisepaket ist ICO berechtigt An- und Abflugzeiten sowie die zunächst angegebene Fluggesellschaft zu ändern, sofern dies z. B. aus organisatorischen oder technischen Gründen notwendig wird und die Gründe erst nach Abschluss des Reisevertrages entstanden sind. ICO informiert über diese Änderungen rechtzeitig. Hat ICO eine Kabinennummer ausnahmsweise vor der Kreuzfahrt bestätigt, können in der Regel nach Zuteilung keine Änderungswünsche des Reisenden mehr berücksichtigt werden. ICO ist aus organisatorischen Gründen berechtigt, auch zugewiesene Kabinen zu ändern, wenn die Änderung innerhalb derselben Kabinenkategorie erfolgt und zumutbar ist.

5.3 Änderungen der Leistungen nach Beginn der Kreuzfahrt, insbesondere Änderungen der Fahrt- und Liegezeiten und Routen sind zulässig, wenn sie notwendig sind, weil sie z. B. auf behördlichen Weisungen beruhen, aus Sicherheitsgründen für die Reisenden und die Schiffsmannschaft und/ oder durch höhere Gewalt erforderlich werden und/oder um Gefahren abzuwenden. Im Übrigen gilt, dass über Änderungen der Fahrzeiten, der Routen und/oder anzulaufenden Häfen z. B. aus Witterungsgründen oder Sicherheitsüberlegungen während der Fahrt allein der für das Schiff verantwortliche Kapitän entscheidet.

 

7. Vertragsbeendigung durch den Reiseveranstalter

7.1 ICO kann den Reisevertrag kündigen, wenn der Reisende die Durchführung der Reise ungeachtet einer Abmahnung von ICO nachhaltig stört, oder wenn sich einer der Reisenden in solchen Maße vertragswidrig verhält, dass die sofortige Aufhebung des Vertrages gerechtfertigt ist. Dies gilt insbesondere bei strafbaren Handlungen des Reisenden. Gleiches gilt bei Nichtbefolgung der sog. „Guest Vacation Policy“ also der länderspezifischen Ge- und Verbote bzgl. Waffen- oder Drogenbesitz, Gewalttätigkeit, beleidigendem Verhalten etc. Hierüber wird der Reisende zu Beginn der Kreuzfahrt informiert.

7.2 Lässt der geistige oder körperliche Zustand eines Reisenden nach dem pflichtgemäßen

Ermessen der medizinischen Berater von ICO eine Reise bzw. Weiterreise nicht zu, weil der Reisende reiseunfähig ist oder eine Gefahr für sich selbst oder Dritte darstellt, kann der Reisevertrag jederzeit gekündigt werden und die weitere Beförderung verweigert werden. Weiterhin hat ICO das Recht, einen Reisevertrag zu kündigen bzw. die Beförderung zu verweigern, soweit Kundinnen bei Reiseantritt die 24. Schwangerschaftswoche erreicht haben oder während der Reise erreichen würden.

7.3 Soweit der Kunde seine vertragliche Verpflichtung verletzt ICO bereits vor der Abreise die erforderlichen Passdaten zur Weitergabe an die entsprechenden Einreisebehörden zu übermitteln, kann der Reisevertrag ohne Setzung einer weiteren Frist gekündigt bzw. die Beförderun verweigert werden.

7.4 Soweit aus den o. g. Gründen ein Reisevertrag von ICO gekündigt und eine weitere Beförderung verweigert wird, behält ICO den Anspruch auf den Reisepreis. ICO lässt sich jedoch den Wert der ersparten Aufwendungen, sowie diejenigen Vorteile anrechnen, die sie aus einer anderweitigen Verwendung der nicht in Anspruch genommenen Leistungen erlangt. Für eventuell entstehende Mehrkosten des Kunden steht ICO nicht ein. Insbesondere hat der Reisende die ihm oder dem Reiseteilnehmer entstehenden Mehraufwendungen für einen Rücktransport an seinen Heimatort selbst zu tragen. Der Reisende sollte überprüfen, ob eine Zusatzkrankenversicherung erforderlich ist.

 

The important thing is that these terms state the conditions under which Princess is allowed to change or cancel the cruise very specifically, and it's not simply a better business offer.

 

Okay.... so Google translates this portion to be:

 

"If a significant change or deviation exists an essential travel service, the traveler is entitled to free cancellation or alternatively request a free rebooking on an equivalent alternative travel unless ICO is able to offer such a trip. The traveler has his choice to declare immediately upon notification of the change / deviation by ICO."

 

This seems to say that if they make a significant change (cancelling the cruise), they must refund your money or to transfer you to an equivalent voyage. And that's what they've done...

[RDC1]

After reading some of the replies in this and another thread I'm truly surprised that there are so many people having similar experiences. However, there also seem to be a lot of people who obviously don't care if the cruise companies honour their contracts or not. I'm aware that those companies run a business and therefore have the primary goal of making money, but I still think they should be bound by their contracts, as every business depends on reliability - call me naive if you want.

Anyway, I'm still trying to get my re-imbursement, although I don't hold too much hope, since the online travel agency which I used to book the flights is not very helpful, neither is the airline (for some reason, they refuse to give me any written statement, although they have confirmed that my flights can't be cancelled or refunded when I called them, so I only have a small screenshot of a part of their website to prove my case).

I haven't decided about hiring a lawyer and sueing Princess (as they haven't officially declined the petition yet), but as our expenses for flights etc. amount to almost 4000,- € I probably will, if they refuse to pay - even more so after finding out that this is not a singular occurrence. I don't know about law in other countries, but I've read the General Terms and Conditions for Germany quite thoroughly, and in my understanding Princess Cruises is not allowed to cancel the cruise for the reason they have. I'd be interested to hear from other cruisers who might be affected, too (perhaps there is a possibility of a class-action lawsuit? If this is the correct term), but I'm not sure how to get into direct contact - if there such a thing as a private mail on this board, those who know how to use it can e-mail me.

 

 

A couple of points:

 

1. Princess is not in violation of their contract. Their contract states that if the cruise is canceled prior to departure you are owed the money that you paid them for the cruise back. They have done that. The contract also states that they do not owe you for anything beyond that point.

 

2. Most EU travel law deals with packages. For example in the UK if you book a package through a travel agent and a vendor in that package cancels then you can get the entire package refunded. However, since you did not book directly with Princess and instead booked with a TA your issue even there would be with the TA not Princess.

 

3. The TA may be correct in that you purchased tickets that are not refundable and cannot be canceled. However, that does not mean that they do not have value. They can probably be rescheduled for a fee. So they do not meet the definition of not having future value.

 

4. For these kind of issues there is insurance. If you book tickets independently the airlines themselves offer insurance or there are third party companies. If you do not know the contract terms you are booking a trip under and do not purchase insurance to cover issues that might come up then you are taking your chances.

 

5. Under the German terms and conditions read paragraph 5.2. The actions taken by Princess comply. They changed essential travel services. They notified you. They offered to rebook an equivalent cruise and they allowed you the opportunity to resign and get your cruise fare refund. No where does it indicated that they cannot change travel services, nor does it indicate that they need to pay for anything beyond what you paid to Princess for the cruise.

 

5.2 The tour operator reserves the right to change essential travel services of the original travel contract if the amendments are reasonable for the traveler. This is the case if the amendment itself is irrelevant but necessary, if it is unpredictable and if the overall arrangement of the cruise is not impaired. If an airline is not warranted, a change of the airline is permitted. In this case, ICO must inform the traveler at once of the reason for the change and offer to rebook for an equivalent substitute cruise or to resign from the contract free of charge according to §651 BGB. The traveler must declare his decision immediately.

Edited February 23, 2015 by RDC1

[RocketMan275]

 

I haven't decided about hiring a lawyer and sueing Princess (as they haven't officially declined the petition yet), but as our expenses for flights etc. amount to almost 4000,- € I probably will, if they refuse to pay - even more so after finding out that this is not a singular occurrence. I don't know about law in other countries, but I've read the General Terms and Conditions for Germany quite thoroughly, and in my understanding Princess Cruises is not allowed to cancel the cruise for the reason they have. I'd be interested to hear from other cruisers who might be affected, too (perhaps there is a possibility of a class-action lawsuit? If this is the correct term), but I'm not sure how to get into direct contact - if there such a thing as a private mail on this board, those who know how to use it can e-mail me.

 

You have already given away your rights to sue. Read the cruise contract, particularly section 15 where you agreed to settle claims like this through arbitration. All issues (other than injury) to be arbitrated in Los Angeles, CA. You can contact a lawyer but you're wasting your money.

[RocketMan275]

Here is a small portion in english....

 

Posted by Rocketman275.....

 

From the cruise contract: "Carrier may, for any reason, without prior notice, cancel the cruise; deviate from the scheduled ports of call, route and timetable; call or omit to call at any port or place or cancel or modify any activity on or off the ship; comply with all governmental laws and orders given by governmental authorities; render assistance to preserve life and property; or change the date or time of sailing or arrival, change the port of embarkation or disembarkation, shorten the Cruise or substitute ships, aircraft or other transportation or lodging. Accordingly, You should not make any important arrangements or meetings based on the scheduled Cruise, which may change without liability to Carrier."

 

Translating this: "You are totally screwed."